


Toothpaste

by LonelyIntrovert



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: EFA Fic Challenge 2019, F/F, Gen, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 15:03:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17851850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyIntrovert/pseuds/LonelyIntrovert
Summary: Nicole tries to manage without Waverly but realizes the angel's absence has changed her too much.





	Toothpaste

Nicole got up like she always had for the past month and a half —to the sound of CJ meowing loudly, the large cat curled up right on her chest. The Purgatory deputy blinked blearily in the bright light that streamed into the in the bedroom, bouncing off the good two feet of snow that had fallen over the course of the week. With a sigh, she nudged the cat off her chest and was only mildly alarmed at the mist of breath that rose from her lips.

Ever since the town evacuated, the power had been shut off, and all the gas they had was whatever how much was left in the gas station reservoir. Purgatory had fallen into an icy slumber, which none of the houses in town were equipped for.

The deputy sighed as she tucked her shirt back in her pants and attempted to smooth the week-old creases that had developed in her uniform. She threw her coat on with a shudder before leaning down and tugging on her snow boots, CJ meowing irritably below her.

“I know you’re hungry, I need to get food,” Nicole grumbled under her breath, not her usual gentle self at all.

Nudging the cat away with her foot, Nicole stood and stomped down the stairs, the wood creaking under her weight. Waverly’s bedroom was drafty, but it was the only room that still remotely smelled of the brunette.

The sound of Nicole descending the stairs did not seem to be loud enough to rouse the slumbering form in the kitchen, snoozing with her head on the table. Nicole squinted and did not contain the strained look that came over her as she stepped through into the living room, checking the amount of firewood there. Finding only a few pieces of damp bark and twigs, she marched back into the hall, almost tripping over an empty liquor bottle. The glass skidded down the hall and hit the wall with a muted ‘thud’, Nicole gripping the stair railings as she stopped herself from falling.

The anger that rose in her—the anger that was now always there at a simmer, now easily exploded over. Nicole stomped back into the kitchen, eyes flashing dangerously in the eerie white light of the snow outside. 

“Get up—” She began in a hoarsely irate tone, her whole body shaking.

Wynonna shifted, but did not rise, her foot nudging a half-empty flask on the floor beneath her.

“Get up, Wynonna,” Nicole repeated, the anger coloring her voice as her face went red.

“Go away,” Wynonna grumbled, covering her head with her arms as she leaned away from the infuriated redhead.

Nicole let a moment of astounded shock emanate through her before she grabbed the first thing she could—a basin half filled with liquid she did not recognize. Swinging it with blinding speed, the basin crashed into the back of Wynonna’s head, the liquid spraying all over the kitchen table.

Wynonna shot up with a bewildered cry, Nicole shaking with anger at the kitchen sink.

“About time, you alcoholic—”

“Nicole, that was my piss for God’s sake!” Wynonna screeched, springing up from the chair. It was just then that the pungent odor of urine rammed right into Nicole, and she had to fight from gagging as she forced a breath out of her mouth.

“Oh, now we’re too lazy to use the outhouse?!” Nicole roared in response, “Wynonna, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What is wrong with—”

“I’m TRYING Wynonna, that’s what’s wrong with me! I am trying to keep this house in working order, and you are NOT trying! All you do is sit around and mope all damn day, drinking yourself silly! I’m DONE with it!”

“Then GET OUT Haughtshit!” Wynonna roared back in response, looking equally enraged. Nicole glowered at the other in tense silence before rolling her eyes and stomping out the door, slamming it behind her. As she marched through the snow, she heard Wynonna say something indistinct, but definitely in poor taste.

Nicole angrily stomped through snow, breath misting out before her as she walked over to a lone stump that stuck up at an odd angle—an axe stuck through the center. Gripping the handle of the axe, she yanked the blade out of the stump with a grunt and tossed it to the ground with a muted ‘thump’. Going to the snowed-over pile of firewood, Nicole began to pick out some logs to split.

The Homestead had been without power now for over two months. 

Nicole fought through these thoughts—they reminded her of how long it had been since she had seen Waverly--since she had held her, heard that musical laugh that made her grin widely, that made her soul sing...

But, as difficult as it was to avoid certain thoughts, this one arose from the ashes once more. Nicole felt a tightness in her chest as she leaned over to place a log on the stump and gripped the axe in her hands, trembling slightly.

It truly felt as if a light had been snuffed out of her world, a darkness she never knew existed now surrounding her, filling her. She felt dead inside, her body moving mechanically through bouts of anger that was normally directed at Wynonna. Nicole had practically moved into the Homestead after Waverly disappeared into the woods, though it was clear that she and Wynonna would be incapable of getting along—especially after Wynonna’s rather idiotic plan was discovered.

With a grunt, Nicole brought the axe up and swung it down with a ‘whoosh’, the anger simmering once more. 

If it had not been for Wynonna, they would not be in this mess. Waverly would still be there, and Doc—a man she hated—would still be there.

Granted, Wynonna hated him as well after Nicole had told her about what Doc had done to Charlie at the Perley home. 

Nicole swung the axe once more, a defining ‘crack’ echoing throughout the desolate landscape. The animals were gone, and that damn sun remained in its dully bright position. This made sleeping borderline impossible, and Nicole had worried on more than one occasion that she had even hallucinated figures on the horizon or in the trees, watching them. 

Nicole grunted as she brought the axe down once more, the split wood flying off the stump as a result.

With a sigh, she swung the axe again and stuck it back in the stump before grabbing the wood, figuring the axe needed sharpening and could not chop anymore wood. Gathering the kindling into her arms, the redhead sighed and marched back to the door, hoping that the brunette inside had at least reconvened to a different room so they would not have to interact anymore than they had to.

Nicole released a relieved breath, Wynonna seeming to have left for her own room. This allowed Nicole to deposit the wood in the living room, though as she stood, CJ came bounding up.

“Oh, right,” Nicole said aloud, her voice sounding odd to her own ears.

The redhead went into the kitchen before realizing that they had run out of cat food. With a huff, she snatched her keys, silently reveling in the newfound reason to get out of the  
house for once.

“I’ll be back,” she told the cat before sparing a moments’ glare at the top of the stairs and heading out to her cruiser.

***

The drive to town was uneventful, the roads having been deserted and the sun scaring away any wildlife. Nicole had walked into the grocery store, the snow up to her shins as she struggled to pull the door open to the shop. Squeezing into the small crack she managed to create, Nicole struggled to not slip as her wet boots contacted the smooth tile floor.  
The shop was dark, and Nicole had to strain her eyes to be able to see what was left on the shelves. 

They had collectively ransacked the shops of Purgatory over the course of two months, moving what food could spoil outside into the arctic conditions and attempting to save what food could be claimed by rodents. This left the shelves practically bare, and in the dim of the light Nicole stalked up and down the rows, searching for where the pet food would be.

Her feet crunched over a nondescript substance, and with a groan, she looked down and saw that rodents had, in fact, found the cat food—and maybe something a bit larger than that as well. She stood there in mild shock, her mind going over all the possible options for acquiring more cat food in an adequate time. 

Despite herself, Nicole almost instantly thought of her house in town.

The sheriff’s deputy had avoided her house since Waverly disappeared, the house suddenly feeling eerily empty. She could not tolerate the silence of the house anymore and surrendered her sanity for what little company Wynonna could provide her.

CJ needed to eat.

With a sigh, she struggled out of the door of the shop before hopping in her cruiser and starting down the unplowed roads. 

***

The door had stuck fast with the layers of ice coating the sides. It took Nicole several blows to manage to open it. The first few steps were odd, her feet creaking on old worn wood that had a thick layer of dust. She had convinced herself that she would not go looking for evidence of Waverly’s existence, the pain having been too much when she moved out.

Purposely avoiding looking into the living room, Nicole went straight for the cupboard with the cat food, suppressing a cough at the mound of dust her actions created.

“There you are,” she mumbled, grabbing the bag and shoving it under her arm. She went to turn and leave as promptly as she showed up, but something on the counter made her stop dead in her tracks.

A grocery bag that she sure did not remember purchasing.

Despite herself, the redhead toed over to the bag, hands immediately opening it as she peered in.

Toothpaste.

It was that organic brand that Waverly absolutely adored, and before Nicole could even fathom what was happening, she was on the floor weeping, holding the tube to her chest.

Waverly had asked her to marry her, and Nicole hadn’t responded. She hadn’t responded because she was scared. Now, as she lay on the floor, covering herself in dust, she wondered what on earth she was scared of. Waverly always had made her feel safe.

No, Waverly makes her feel safe.

Nicole lay there and for a moment was absorbed with the vision of they being married, Waverly buying all the toothpaste they would ever need, and just being together.

But that was gone now.


End file.
